Manali Mazumdar

What distinguishes Michael from other pastoral poems is perhaps, its ability to stay true to the historical reality. The poem is written at the backdrop of the first Industrial Revolution. However, it does not paint an idyllic picture of rural life. What we have, is the story of an old shepherd - a man who lives as one with nature. The wind, the hills, and brooks constitute the topography of his own being. Though old with declining years, Michael has not lost his values. Michael reveres the land. The land represents to him, the life force that sustained his forefathers. But he is only a man... and when the land is met with crisis, he has to send away his only son to work in the city. The poem painfully captures the ordeals that a man has to go through in order to live an honest and virtuous life; how man feels trapped in the shackles of civilization. Wordsworth truly evokes the democratic spirit of the Romantic movement when he writes poetry on the lives of men, who are otherwise always forgotten. Michael is not the story of one man...but "ten thousand to whom loss like this" had to be acceptable. The beauty of this poem is that it lingers on the minds of the readers long after we have finished reading it... It inspires you to think, "on man, the heart of man, and human life."

The poems laments the state of disconnect between human beings and Nature. Written at the backdrop of the industrial revolution, the poet questions the fate of human beings: 'where do we belong if not in Nature?" To Wordsworth, Nature is a divine force- a friend, philosopher and guide. Removed from it, we are constantly at the risk of being swept off by menacing waves. It is a poem that speaks to us, even two centuries later. Wordsworth would have been horrified if he saw how far civilization impacted our relationship with Nature. Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, remains a matter of debate. With so many climate change conferences making headlines every year, the Nature versus Civilization discourse is relevant, now more than ever. But as prophesied by Wordsworth, it has been debilitating on the human mind.

This book is undoubtedly one of Austen's most promising genius. It takes time to get into the tone of the novel, but hold on! It is worth it. It is a little difficult to catch and even appreciate the subtle humour, irony and wit that characterises her writing style but it gradually falls in line. The characters in Emma are life like and extensions of the society we inhabit. They are good natured people and not entirely flawless. As for the protagonist, she is wonderfully alive, mischievous at times. It's advisable to relate in her our own follies and laugh up our sleeves as we can. A bildungsroman, with shades of romance gives it a very subdued autumnal trance and conjures up a feeling of warmth and satisfaction in the readers. I highly recommend this. And I suggest you to be as open to other people's faults as we are to our own. Happy reading!

Feminist, romantic and thought provoking.